I'm Trying!
by BrokenSouloftheDarkness
Summary: This was it. Ryou had had enough. It was time to do something about Atem's problem, once and for all. Contains drugs, and mild language. I'm proud of myself. First one-shot, Fragileshipping.


**Me: Hey guys! I made a Fragileshipping one-shot! I'm so happy!**

**Atem: ...What's 'Fragileshipping'?**

**Ryou: *sees story* *pales***

**Me: You and Ryou!**

**Atem: O_O Well that's awkward.**

**Ryou: Bloody hell...**

**Me: I didn't mean for it to turn out this way! I meant for Yami to cheat on you Ryou!**

**Atem: Gee, thanks!**

**Me: Inspiration, okay? Just say the damn disclaimer!**

**Atem: *sigh* Jess doesn't own Yu-Gi-Oh! And enjoy her first one-shot, no matter how screwed up it is.**

* * *

"Truly, Ry, I swear!" He begged, on his knees in front of his white-haired angel, begging for forgiveness.

"Atem…" chocolate colored eyes filled with tears.

The figure in front of him, Atem, shook his head when he saw the tears; burgundy eyes widened, and he stood. Wrapping his muscular, tanned arms around the thin, pale beauty, he murmured soft words in an attempt to stop the unwanted tears.

"Shh, Ryou, don't cry. _I_ should be crying, not you. Dry these tears; I don't like seeing you cry." The white-haired boy, Ryou, clutched at Atem's black shirt, vaguely noticing the leathery texture before burying his face into his shoulder.

"Atem, I-I can't take –hic- it anymore!" Ryou shuddered, coughed, and clung tighter to Atem.

Atem, closing his eyes, frowned when he heard this. He pulled away from the crying teen, and lifted his lowered chin.

"Ryou…are you saying we should break up?" Just thinking the words, let alone speaking them struck sharp pain through his chest.

Ryou covered his face with his hands as he nodded. Atem shook his head once more.

"No…no, no! Ryou, my angel, we can make it through this, I-I know we can!" "How can we Atem? Huh? You keep breaking your promise, and go back to that man _every time!_ I know you're addicted; and I've stayed with you through it all, trying to get you out of it. But if you can't keep a promise, and fight through it, then I don't know what else I can do to help!" Atem stared, wide-eyed at the panting and sobbing Brit. Never, throughout the whole time he'd known him, had Atem ever heard Ryou raise his voice at anyone- it was a shock. But he did understand him, and that's what was killing Atem.

He knew he had an addiction; after the Ceremonial Duel, Atem decided to stay, and requested that Bakura be brought back. He lived with Yugi, and they took care of Yugi's late Grandfather's game shop, and after they both graduated high school, everyone went to the same college.

Atem, walking back to the dorm room he shared with his hikari, heard ruckus coming from one of the alleyways near the school campus. Suspicious, Atem had peeked into the alley to find two burly, drunk men attacking Ryou. The poor light was crying, and his shirt was ripped; one of the men was trying to force his pants off.

Angry, Atem had attacked them back, and even with his short stature and gracefulness, was able to incapacitate the men. Ryou had been extremely grateful to Atem, and stuck with him for the remainder of the walk to their dorm rooms. When questioned about Bakura not coming to save him, Ryou just mumbled about their link being broken, the same as Yugi and Atem's. He bade Atem a good night and another thanks before entering the dorm, a few seconds later, he rushed out with a bright blush on his face.

Apparently, Bakura and Yugi were a couple now, and Bakura was laying claim to him, so Ryou slept in Atem's room for the night.

After the incident, Atem and Ryou grew closer, and before long, they were a couple. They loved each other, and seem to be perfect, that is, until shortly after they got their own apartment, when Atem found drugs.

He'd take shots of Ecstacy, snort any drug known to man, and smoked blunts.

Ryou, upset about it, demanded he quit. Atem, very reluctant, did so, but once the waves of withdrawal kicked in, he was back on it. He did anything he could to get a hit, sneaking behind Ryou's back to get them, giving up almost all the money he had.

Each time Ryou found out, he'd start crying, and threaten to dump him, and each time, Atem would promise to try to stop. And each time, the withdrawal effects got worse and worse; Atem was trying, honestly he was; but the addiction was becoming too much for him.

Ryou had caught him coming back from getting another syringe of the Ecstacy, and, finally giving up on him, decided to act.

Atem got on his knees once again, and wrapped his arms around the frustrated and disappointed hikari. And for then for the first time in a few millennia, Atem started to sob.

Ryou was surprised, and though he hated to admit it, he hated seeing Atem cry; seeing such a strong, confident man like him breaking down like this was heartbreaking. But he had to get his point across. As he was opening his mouth to speak however, Atem beat him.

"R-Ryou," he choked out. "I know I-I don't deserve you anymore- how can I? I'm in terrible shape, and I'm-I'm addicted to the very things Yugi warned me about! I definitely don't deserve your forgiveness, but I'm trying, you s-see? It's so…_hard_, trust me, you don't even kn-know how hard it is! If I don't take a hit, I feel as if I'm going to-to die!" Ryou sadly stroked the man's spiky tri-colored hair, letting him relieve himself of everything.

"It's not that I w-want to take them- b-believe me, it _kills_ me, 'cuz I know how you hate it, and don't want me to do it, and how it can kill me. But I feel as if I can't stop…" He ended the last words in a whisper, holding onto to Ryou's waist as if he were a lifeline.

Ryou bit his lip, then asked, "If I left you…do you think you'd do better, or worse?" As soon as he uttered the word 'left', Atem sobbed harder and held onto him tighter.

"I'd do so much worse, angel! If I d-didn't have you, there'd be nothing left to stop me from getting in deeper!" Atem, regretting every bad thing he'd ever done, tried to get Ryou to forgive him again.

"R-Ryou, just give me o-one more chance! I swear I'll stop this time! I promise I'll try even harder!" He lifted his eyes to Ryou's own despairing brown orbs, and prayed to the gods he'd stay.

Slowly, ever so slowly, Ryou shook his head, and Atem's heart broke into a million pieces.

Drawing a strengthening breath, Ryou stared down at Atem, hard. "If you break this promise, I _will _leave you." Atem, blinking, finally realized what the Brit had told him. A smile broke out on his face, and he hugged the male tightly, sobbing and thanking him over and over again.

Ryou sank to his knees in front of the once-pharaoh, and took his hands in his. Leaning forward, he laid his forehead against Atem's.

"Atem..you _can_ get through this, I know you can! You're so strong, and you've got a ton of friends willing to help you! You can kick this addiction, and when you do, trust me, you'll feel a whole lot better, love!" Atem could only nod as the happy tears rolled down his face.

After a few minutes of Atem crying and hugging Ryou half to death, the white-haired hikari remembered what started the altercation.

"Atem, give me all the drugs you have on you, and the ones you hid in the house." Burgundy eyes widened, and Atem hesitated before standing and getting every hidden drug out from its hiding place. In two minutes, there was a pile of little ziplock baggies, syringes full of liquids, and blunts.

Ryou picked everything up, and took it to the bathroom silently. Atem, still hesitant and afraid, but determined, followed him.

Without a word, Ryou dumped it all into the toilet- the syringes he squirted the liquid into, and flushed it.

Atem gasped, and when Ryou turned around, he looked as if he were about to dive into the toilet after the drugs. Calmly, as if he'd done it countless times, Ryou walked to Atem and kissed his cheek, and wrapped his arms around him, as if he could hold him back. Atem shuddered, and breathed in deeply through his nose, reminding himself that he was doing this for Ryou, and hugged the taller male back.

"How much have I changed since I started?" Atem suddenly questioned, scrunching his eyebrows in thought.

Ryou flinched and sighed before he turned Atem to the mirror. The tri-haired male gasped at his reflection.

'_Is…is that really me?' _His eyes, once unnerving and beautiful, were sunken in and dull. His tan skin, envied by most people, was almost stretched over the bones, which poked out at the joints. His hair was grimy and greasy, the spikes hung limply. All in all, he looked absolutely frightening.

Ryou, closing his eyes, laid his chin on his shoulder, and looked into Atem;s eyes in the mirror with a sad smile.

"You haven't been sleeping, and you've pretty much avoided all signs of life…you were extremely jumpy; everyone was, and is, worried about you. I haven't told Yugi or anyone else about the addiction," Atem sighed in relief. "But, you will." Atem's head snapped in his direction. "What? R-Ryou, I can't!" Narrowing his warm eyes, Ryou pointed at him threateningly.

"Atem, how is anyone supposed to help you, if you don't inform them of why you need help?" Atem stuttered for a while, then hung his head.

Ryou smiled. "Good! Now, take a shower, because, no offense love, but you _reek!_" With a laugh, Atem grabbed some clean clothes- after Ryou made sure there were no drugs in the whole house once more- and hopped into the shower.

Ryou decided to gather the group together for the discussion. After debating for a while on whether to leave Atem alone and go find everyone, or text, he decided that it was better safe than sorry and pulled out his phone.

He sent out a group message that they all needed to talk _tonight_ and for everyone to please come over and bring snacks and to be there around seven.

Yugi and Bakura immediately replied, agreeing to the idea, and deciding to bring spaghetti. Marik and Malik also agreed, and said they'd bring chips and dip. Kaiba and Joey, along with Mokuba, were going to bring pizza, and Tea was going to bring the sodas.

The water in the shower turned off, and Atem waltzed out, in just his famed leather pants, with a towel wrapped around his shoulders. When he sat down on his bed, Ryou started to massage his shoulders.

Atem sighed in bliss, and let a moan slip out as he closed his eyes. "Mmm, Ry, that feels absolutely incredible!" Ryou chuckled, and decided to let him know.

"I decided, that since it's better quick to tell, that you should tell the gang tonight. I've invited everyone over, and we'll have food and drinks for everyone! You need to get the meat back on your bones!" Atem froze. "T-Tonight? Kitten, I-I can't do that! It's w-wayyyy too soon! I'm not ready!" Ryou lifted a finger to Atem's pink lips to stop the torrent of exclaims spewing from him in a panic.

"Shh, Atem. Trust me, I know you can do this. I believe in you, but you have to be strong. I'll be there with you, so don't worry." He smiled gently at the frightened Egyptian, who stopped trembling when he saw the love and strength in his love's eyes. After a few deep breaths, he said with his trademark smirk, "Well, we'd better clean this house up then!"

With a grin, Ryou dragged him to their bedroom, then to other parts of the house, where they cleaned vigorously for an hour. After they finished, Ryou checked the time.

"Love," he called to Atem, who was scrubbing the bathroom down. "Yes, my saviour?" Ryou blushed at the new nickname and stuttered, "I-It's almost six; I think w-we should go get some dessert f-for tonight, don't you?"

Atem stretched his arms over his head with a groan; when they popped, he hugged Ryou. "Whatever you think is best, savior!" He laughed at Ryou's red face, and grabbed the keys to their black Ford F150. Ryou pulled on his shoes, as did Atem, and they walked hand in hand out of the dorm building to their truck, and headed for the supermarket, laughing and singing along with the music all the way.

When they parked, they started on their way in, but Atem came to a stop, which made Ryou turn around and give him a look of confusion. Atem's head was turned to the side, and when Ryou saw what he was looking at, he squeezed his hand tightly and started to tug on it.

There, beckoning him from an alley, was a man who was holding a few bags full of a white powder with a leery grin; the man himself looked horrible, what with his hair scraggly and long, his nails broken and yellow, and his teeth almost completely rotted, just the look of him caused a shiver of fear and disgust to crawl up and down Ryou's spine.

Atem was staring at the man with a half pleading, half angry look, and, with obvious difficulty, gently pushed Ryou inside, and kept their hands connected as he walked ahead, almost running away from him. When he stopped, they were in the dessert section at the back of the store.

With a grin, Ryou pulled Atem close and kissed him as passionately as he could. Atem, caught off guard from the kiss, stumbled back a few steps, before wrapping his arms around the tall male and matching the passion.

When breathing became a requirement, they broke apart, gasping. Ryou kissed Atem everywhere on his face and exclaimed with a smile, "I am so _proud_ of you Atem! You turned away from it; that right there, says you're keeping your promise to me, and I'm so glad!" With a sad smile Atem replied. "It was hard; that guy, if you couldn't already tell, was my dealer. Now that he knows I'm going to stop, he'll do anything he can to tempt me." He set his head on Ryou's shoulder, and released a long breath.

"I nearly went to him; the only thing that stopped me was you tugging on my hand, and the thought of you in my head. I thought of what it would be like with you gone, and I just lost it. I turned and ran, I didn't want you anywhere _near _him, so I dragged you with me…I'm so sorry Ryou!"

"There's nothing for you to be sorry for right now. You denied him, and didn't let the drug rule your life. That's what counts. Now come on, we'd better get the dessert fast, it's already been half an hour!" And with that, Ryou started dragging Atem all over the section, when they decided on Happy Tracks flavored ice cream.

When they checked out and were walking out the door, Atem gripped Ryou's dainty hand in his as tightly as he could, and kept his head down. Ryou, understanding, hurriedly pulled him to the truck, and got in. Before Atem had time to look around, Ryou had sped back in the way towards the apartment.

When they got there, Atem, who was frozen in his seat, turned to Ryou.

"I have never seen you drive so frigging fast, in my life. Please, never do it again!" With a laugh that sounded like silver bells, Ryou promised, and grabbed the ice cream. Atem followed, and when they entered their apartment, they checked for any things they were missing. After that was through, they came up with a plan on how to break the ice to the others.

Atem was feeling more and more uneasy as the minutes passed, and started to shiver. When Ryou noticed, he held him close and stroked his hair until Atem calmed down.

"It's okay, don't worry; I'll be here. We have ten minutes or so, don't worry." For the remainder of the minutes, they sat holding each other, something the both of them had missed.

Both males jumped when there was a knock on the door. Ryou struggled up from the couch and Atem's arms to answer. At the door was Yugi, Bakura, Marik, and Malik.

"Hey Ryou! Seto, Joey, Mokuba, and Tea will be here soon; we brought all our snacks! Is Mou Hitori no Boku here?" Yugi was excited, looking around for his yami. Bakura simply rolled his eyes and wrapped an arm around his waist. "Hikari, how are you? Sorry about my runt; he's a little hyper as you can see…" Ryou just chuckled and stepped back to allow entrance.

Marik and Malik were already bickering- Ryou just rolled his eyes and shut the door, not even wanting to know what started this one.

When Yugi went into the living room, he squealed and threw himself at Atem. "Mou Hitori no Boku! I've missed you!" Atem chuckled and held Yugi tightly, trying to remember the last time he'd held his light like this.

"Mou Hitori no Ore, I've missed you too…Hello Bakura, what are they fighting about now?" The two platinum blonde haired psychos early broke their necks trying to see Atem fast enough; after they caught sight, they pounced on him.

"PHARAOH!" They both yelled, making everyone laugh. Atem, now gasping for breath, reached a hand out as a sign for help. Yugi, helpful as ever, tried to pull the two blondes off him.

Ryou heard the door again, so he jogged over and let in the other four, who cheered when they saw Atem also.

For a good while, everyone just talked, laughed, and ate. They all wanted to know the same thing: What happened to Atem?

After a while, Ryou decided it was best to get it over with. "Okay, guys, now, I called you guys over here to discuss something with you." The smile on Atem's face faded, and he took Ryou's hand for strength, who squeezed back.

"What I- what _we_ wanted to discuss with you, has to be told by Atem. It's not my story, or anything, it's his. So…Atem? Want to drop the bomb, love?" Atem gulped.

"Well, let me tell you guys first off, I'm terrified right now, and I'm in the most pain; it's not just emotional, it's physical as well." Yugi looked like he was about to say something, but Atem cut him off.

"No, let me get this out, Yugi, it's very hard…When Ryou and I got this apartment, soon after…I did something terrible, something I severely regret and hate." He looked at each and everyone's confused faces, but turned to Ryou and gave a bitter laugh. "A man, I don't even remember how, he got me addicted to drugs."

A collective gasp resounded around the room.

"For months, I've been addicted to Ecstacy, marijuana, cocaine…basically everything out there. I gave all my money for it, and when I still wanted it," Yugi and Tea's eyes were filled with tears, and Bakura, Seto, and Malik were shocked. Marik wore an expression between the two, but the only face he focused on was Ryou's. He told the story to him, because it felt easier.

"Each time Ryou caught me, I felt worse, and worse. And every time, I'd promise to kick it for good. Then after a few days, my body felt like it was on fire, and I couldn't breathe. It stopped after I took a hit, and I was back on it again…Ryou caught me three more times, and I've tried swearing it off, I really have! But, it's so…_hard_!" Ryou squeezed his hand in comfort.

Atem drew in a deep breath. "Today, Ryou caught me again, I was trying to sneak in a shot of Ecstacy, but he found me. He threatened to leave me, and I knew, I just _knew _that if Ry left me…I'd never get out of it… And so, I begged him for one last chance, even though I surely don't deserve it, and he got every drug I've hidden in the house; he flushed it all down the drain."

Bakura nodded in approval.

"While he was doing that, I wanted to throw him out of the way- but I refrained myself, I would _not_ hurt Ryou for those stupid drugs." Yugi and Tea had long since started crying, the tears cascaded down their faces, and Joey and Mokuba had tears shining in their eyes, too.

"Ryou thought it would be best to tell you guys quickly, so that you could probably help me keep my mind off it, and maybe keep me on the right track…So, right now, all I'm asking for is forgiveness from all of you." He let out a breath and looked up. Ryou's eyes were shining with tears, but they were proud.

"I t-told you about them, Yami," Yugi cried from Bakura's comforting embrace.

Atem flinched and nodded. "I-I know. I know, and I'm so, so so sorry!" Yugi nodded, and came forward and hugged him. Everyone said their acceptance, and they promised to help in any way they could.

"We can pay for rehab," Seto said, Mokuba nodding rapidly. Atem's eyes filled with tears once again, and he started crying in relief that he wasn't rejected.

~Few days later~

Atem was going insane. His body was on fire, ad he couldn't keep any food down. He needed a hit, _bad._ He was laying on his bed in a cold sweat, trembling and shaking.

Ryou came in with a steaming mug. "Here, love, I made some tea." He helped the trembling man drink it, but soon after held his bags out of the way so they wouldn't be covered in vomit.

"…Maybe it's time Seto sends you to rehab…" They both chuckled before Atem vomited again.

"This sucks!" Ryou just laughed. It was good to hear Atem's whiny comment. "I'll be right back, don't do anything stupid while I'm gone!" Atem only rolled his eyes as Ryou jogged out of the bedroom.

He picked up his cellphone and scrolled through the names before hitting the little call signal.

It rang twice. "So, does little Atem need his rehab?" Ryou could only laugh again at Seto's remark.

"Yes, yes he does. I think we should send him off tomorrow; he's basically having a fever!" Seto chuckled. "Well, I guess I'd better call them then!" And with that, he hung up.

Still grinning, Ryou re-entered the bedroom, confused, before he heard noises from the bathroom. Atem slowly walked out, giving Ryou a tired smile before collapsing on the bed. Ryou sat down beside him and rubbed his back.

"You're going tomorrow," Atem mumbled into the pillow.

"What?"

"I said, that's good and bad."

"Why is that?"

"It's good, because I won't know where to get any from, but it's bad because I'll be away from you!" Atem said upon lifting his head from the pillow.

"Don't worry; I'll be here when you get home! And, when they inform me of your return, you're getting a surprise!"

Atem grinned. "A cake made by you? Those are amazing!" Ryou nodded, and Atem cheered before he grabbed the trash can again. After retching, he sighed.

"And I just brushed my teeth!" Ryou couldn't help but laugh.

* * *

**Me: So?**

**Atem: Weird.**

**Ryou: ...At least it had a happy ending?**

**Me: ^_^**

**Atem: Review please!**


End file.
